WE WAITED BACKSTAGE for the interview.

“They will speak English?” I asked Polly. I couldn’t sit still, but I knew the way I jumped around drove Polly nuts, so I tried to calm myself.

“You idiot. Of course they will. Otherwise, it’d be a damn boring interview.”

I loved being on good terms with Polly again. When we weren’t at each other’s throats, we really were best friends.

“Anyway,” she said, “it’s not like you won’t have anything to say. You never shut up.”

“Well, I can’t do all the talking. You and Jax have to say stuff too.”

“If we can get a word in edgewise,” Jax said. “Anyway, you two are the talent. I’m just here for my good looks.”

I tilted my head, staring at him. “Nope. Definitely not the pretty one,” I said. “And I’m the one with the hot boyfriend, too.”

“Hey, shut up,” Polly said. “Damo’s no slouch in the looks department.”

“I’m with Polly,” Jax said. “I’d go Damo any day.”

Jax really did have a bit of a thing about Damo. Poor guy. But then, I figured Jax got his fair share of groupies of both sexes even though he kept pretty quiet about it. He was no Elijah, that’s for sure. And if he didn’t want to talk about it, I wasn’t going to pry into his private life.

Someone came in to say the camera crew were running ten minutes late. I groaned. I wanted this over with.

I picked up my phone. There was a message. Holy cow, one of the Crow sister possibilities had replied. She’d grown up in the same town and totally fit the profile. Then I read the last sentence.

Are you fishing for information on my brother? I can’t tell you anything.

Jackpot!

I quickly typed a reply, telling her I was on tour with Crow. I wanted to ask if she’d forgiven him, but blurting that out would imply I knew far too much.

“Hurry up, Fay,” Polly said. “They’re ready.”

“Just a sec.”

I added a line saying Crow missed her. That covered a lot. Then I jumped up to be interviewed. No problem. I’d be funny and cute and sexy. There was no denying it.

The whole interview went by in a blur. I talked, but I had no idea what I was saying. There were questions, lots of questions. And then we had to rerecord bits of it from different angles.

Finally, we were done, and it was time for the Freaks.

“Did I make a fool of myself?” I asked Polly backstage. I thought I’d done well, but I wanted confirmation of that.

“No more than usual.”

I poked my tongue out at her. I need reassurance, not sass.

“You were great,” Jax said. “A natural.”

“Yep, I’ve taken to the spotlight so well. I’m a total pro.”

We had to go run through sound check before I could get any more feedback on my natural abilities.

Finally, I got some time backstage with Crow. I plonked myself down on his knee and curled my arms around his neck.

“How did your interview go?” I asked him.

“Same old. I stood in the back, and Damo did all the talking.”

“I bet Elijah had some things to say, too,” I said.

Crow laughed.

I couldn’t wait for the show to be over so we’d be back at the hotel and could have some time alone. He’d been gone all morning with Jax, and we’d barely had a chance to be together since breakfast. I didn’t want to be clingy, but I had so much planned. There were still parts of the city I hadn’t seen. Being alone in private was also good. I had things planned for that too.

I started telling Crow about my plans, but Damo called him over. Damn it. Our time always got interrupted.

I did need to fix my makeup. Fiona hadn’t come to the arena with us. The interview team makeup artist had done an okay job, but there were a few things that needed work. I hated the lip color she’d used on me, for starters.

When I got back from doing that, Crow had finished with Damo.

“I’ve never been filmed onstage before,” I told Crow. “I’m a bit worried.”

“You’ll be fine,” he told me.

Everyone kept saying that, but being fine was way too low-level for me. I wanted to be so much more than fine. I wanted to captivate people. I wanted them to fall in love with me.

“Maybe I should ask Damo for tips,” I said. “He’s used to being in the spotlight like that.”

“Just be yourself,” Crow said.

“I want to be so much more than myself, though. “I want to be the best,” I told him

A strange look crossed his face.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, Crow. There’s something. Spill it.”

“You seem to be making a big deal out of this.”

“It is a big deal. Every opportunity is a chance to make more fans. I need to grab those chances with both hands.”

He shrugged. “It’s about the music, nothing else.”

I scoffed. “You don’t know much about the music industry if you think that. It’s okay for you, sitting back there behind your drums. Do you think you guys would’ve made it this far without Damo pushing?”

“That might be true, but you don’t need to push so much.”

He could say that, but I was the one out front, the one everyone watched. I guessed if he didn’t understand that, there was no point explaining. I wondered if he saw this game differently than I did. To me, the music was important, but it was just one element. I couldn’t separate those things. I’d never be one to take things easy or let them run their natural course. Pushing was what I did best.

Before I could think too much, though, it was time to go on.

I stood up.

“Do I look perfect?” I asked. I rushed to the mirror.

“You look fine,” Polly said.

Again with that word. Fine would never be enough for me.